Page 74 of Tempt

He grinned and stepped over so that we were inches apart. “Help away.”

I bit my lip as I ran my hands down his shirt, then fingered the button before slowly threading it into the hole. I slid my fingers up and did it again, and again. “How are things with your team?”

“Good. I think we can sleep at my flat tonight. I’m almost positive we’ve found our problem.”

I held my breath as I worked the next button. “What are you going to do?”

“We’re using him. I’ve fed him some false information. If it’s him, I’ll know by this afternoon.”

“And then what?”

He grabbed my hands just as I was about to fasten the button above his breastbone. He waited until I looked up. “And then I have a face-to-face with Toni.”

I stared at him, waiting for him to say more.

Instead he leaned forward and rested his forehead against mine, nose to nose, our hands trapped between our bodies. “And then what, Theo?”

He closed his eyes. “I want to tell you that this is it. That this will be the end, but I can’t. I have to be sure before we put things in motion.”

So this was just a test—just the beginning of the end. “Okay,” I whispered, but really, I wanted to crawl back into the tiny bed, pull the comforter over my head, and hide there until it was safe to come out.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“Don’t be. Do this right.”

He nodded slowly, forcing me to nod my head, too. It made me smile. “I’ll cook dinner in your kitchen tonight.”

And now Theo smiled, too. “That sounds perfect.”

* * *

It was really,really, really nice to be back in Theo’s flat. I was grateful for Higgins’ safe house, but it couldn’t compare to the comfort of home. And yeah, in a lot of ways this felt like home. I hadn’t been in my temporary flat all that long, and before that I’d just moved into my apartment in Calhoun Beach when I got the call for London. I’d been a nomad for months on end and this place felt as much like home as anywhere else.

But it wasn’t the giant bed or the state-of-the-art kitchen. It wasn’t the reclaimed wood table Theo had thoroughly fucked me on, or the couches where we read books. It was the man I did all those things with, and the memories we’d already racked up inside this space.

I cooked him a small feast and we fell asleep with full bellies, too tired to have celebration sex, even though we had a lot to celebrate. We were home and the mole had been identified. Whatever information Theo had fed him, it meant that tomorrow night I’d be alone.

So I didn’t exactly like the feeling of waking up to a cold, empty bed in the middle of the night. Fortunately I knew exactly where to find Theo. He’d been drifting toward music more and more as the stress escalated, but at work and the safe house his only outlet was the kind he could listen to. I had zero doubts Theo would go to his music room if he couldn’t sleep.

Sure enough, the moment I made it to the kitchen I could hear the soft strum of a guitar floating down the hallway. The door was closed, but this time I didn’t feel like I was intruding. We’d come so far since that first time I heard Theo playing.

I loved Theo’s music room. It was more modern than traditional with floor-to-ceiling white book cases filled with old records, CD’s, sheet music, and more. His full collection of instruments was on display because Theo didn’t like his stuff being hidden away. His piano was set up in the corner by the door, his guitars hung from pegs on the wall, a variety of drums and a drum set stood in the far corner, and a collection of brass instruments sat on their stands nearby.

They were all gorgeous and specifically selected by Theo, but my favorite place in the whole room was the giant comfy couch. From there I could see everything, study everything on the shelves, and watch Theo do his thing. I didn’t interrupt him when I came in. I went straight to the couch and pulled the blanket over me. Theo was playing a song on an electric guitar, picking his way through by memory, missing notes and going back to fix them over and over.

After a while he looked up and smiled at me. “Couldn’t sleep?”

I shook my head.

“Seems to be going around.”

“I don’t like to sleep without you.”

He grinned and bounced his eyebrows. “My magic is working.”

I snuggled deeper into the throw pillow. “I like your magic. I don’t like you disappearing.”

He stood up and grabbed his stool—the cushy kind with the black top and the thick silver legs—and moved up next to the couch. He set the guitar aside and ran his hand through my hair. The look in his eyes was so soft and tender—and directed completely at me. I knew I was the only one that ever saw that look. That look was mine. Theo was mine. Yeah, I was a bit of a hypocrite for thinking it considering how I’d snapped at him when he said it to me, but I’d come to terms with the reality of what we were to each other.

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